The filmmaker states that ‘Eleanor The Great’ was the perfect opportunity to work with an actress who has admired for years: 95 -year -old June Squibb, protagonist of the feature
“Eleanor the Great” is a reflection on the passage of time and the need to maintain certain living stories, says its director, an actress who believes that “all actors are afraid to disappear.” Johansson soon attenuates his statement during an interview with journalists in the day after the debut of his first feature film as director.
“Well, I think I worked enough time to stop worrying about disappearing, and I think that’s liberating. But wouldn’t you say that all actors care about it?” He asks, addressing actress June Squibb, 95, protagonist of the film. “Of course, and I think we all try to do the right one. We’re never sure of anything,” replied the actress, who got the role of protagonist at a very unusual age in the middle of the cinema.
A cascade of misunderstandings
Eleanor is an elderly woman who lives in Florida and whose best friend, a Holocaust survivor, she dies. Devastated by the loss, moves to New York, where he cannot resume ties with his daughter. One day, comes in contact with a discussion group about Shoá and, obsessed with her friend’s memory, appropriates her story, which causes a cascade of misunderstandings she can’t contain.
She doesn’t even dares to tell the truth to her unexpected new friend, a journalism student played by Erin Kellyman. But the film does not only address the individual fear of death, but the fear of the disappearance of the stories, such as the genocide perpetrated by the Nazis.
“Eleanor says that if she doesn’t tell the story [da amiga]no one will do it. And when we are constantly debating who has the right to tell someone else’s story, we also have to face the fact that the stories need to be told, but they will disappear, ”adds Johansson.
The 40 -year -old was inspired by the various prestigious directors with whom he worked, such as Woody Allen and Sofia Coppola, to be able to drive the film with “Indie” air, far from the great productions such as the Avengers saga.
“It has been taking notes for 70 years”
Scarlett Johansson states that the movie was the perfect opportunity to work with an actress he has admired for years. “I was just excited to work with June. It’s so accurate, so efficient. It made my job so easy, because I realized that I was giving instructions to someone who takes notes and follows them 70 years ago,” he adds.
Born in 1929, Squibb began his career in theater, but only in 1990, at age 61, participated in his first movie, “Simply Alice”, directed by Woody Allen. From then on, he intensely participated in recordings, as if he needed to recover all the time that had been away from the cameras: “The time of innocence,” directed by Martin Scorsese, or “Nebraska”, which earned him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.
To the question of “Eleanor the Great” made her dream back with an Oscar, Squibb responded with a laugh: “I always dream of an Oscar!” “But I think this movie deserves to have a chance, both for the direction and for the best supporting role,” he says elegantly, pointing to Erin Kellyman.
“Scarlett is one of the most attentive directors I’ve ever worked with,” explains Kellyman, who will soon debut “Extermination: The Evolution” from Danny Boyle’s horror saga. Johansson has been working with cinema since he was 10 years old and has been named Oscar twice. Like the vast majority of Hollywood’s big stars, she has her own producer. “When I got the script, I called my partner and said, ‘I think I can drive it.’ I had never said that before,” recalls Johansson.
*With information from AFP
Posted by Carolina Ferreira
